Always Be With You
by It'sSoRonksIt'sRight
Summary: Written by Oh My Gold as a prompt challenge. Prompts: "Put that thing back where it came from or so help me.", baseball cap, florentines, mop. Hogwarts Battle - AU. RL/NT Tonks makes the difficult decision to follow her husband into battle, will she be successful in saving his life? Read and find out.


_**Author note: This was written by Oh My Gold after being given the following prompts from It'sSoRonksIt'sRight; "Put that thing back where it came from or so help me", baseball cap, florentines, and mop.**_

Tick Tock….Tick Tock….Tick Tock. Time seemed to be dragging on and Tonks couldn't take it anymore.

A plate of Florentines sat in the middle of the coffee table, there to impress her mother and there because she needed to waste half a day to distract herself. Something boring was playing on TV, both to distract and entertain her mother and father on their visit. The older Tonks' had just been on a visit to America, they had bought back a Quidditch fan cap for their new born grandson who slept soundly in his mother's arms.

The cap was far too big for the one month old now, but he would grow into it… Tonks just wondered if his father would be there to witness such a thing.

Remus. A beautiful man who believed himself to be a monster who was incapable of love, who didn't deserve love.

She didn't see that. To her he was a brave, somewhat awkward, very stubborn, bookish sort of man who turned her knees weak and made her heart rate increase all at the same time. She knew she loved him from the moment she'd set her eyes on him. It just took him sometime to admit he felt the same.

There had been a storm brewing for years. She'd heard the stories of the 'he who should not be named' from her mothers' lips when she was young. Tonks had always been thankful that she didn't have to live in a time when he was at large. Lilly and James Potter had been Remus' friends. So when 'You know who' returned, now after Harry, there was no question in Remus' mind that he would fight to defend the chosen one. Perhaps even risk dying to protect his friends' son as he could not protect them. That was what scared Tonks the most.

The bubble gum pink haired witch looked down at the baby in her arms. Their little Teddy. She hoped that the name 'Remus Lupin' would mean more than his middle and last name to the little boy, that it would be a name that he would share with his father as he grew up.

"Are you alright dear?" Tonks' eyes met her mother's as he mother spoke. Andromeda sat watching the television and nursing a cup of tea while Ted snored loudly, finally catching up on a little bit of sleep as he hadn't been able to sleep for months, just now catching a few winks.

"I'm fine mum" the younger women shifted her son in her arms. Teddy seemed at peace chewing with his gums on the corner of his new hat. He was seemingly unaware that tonight he could lose a parent. Soothingly Tonks ran a hand through her son's wispy turquoise hair.

"You haven't touched your tea" Andromeda motioned to the tea cup on the coffee table next to the Florentines on the table. "I can make us some dinner if you're hungry?" she asked after a moment, getting no response from her daughter, her only instinct at this time was to mother her.

"I'm not really in the mood for anything" Tonks almost huffed like a moody teenager.

Andromeda realised that her daughter was preoccupied with the current battle going on miles away, she leant across and put her hand comfortingly on her daughters arm "Everything will be fine, he'll come back" she tried to assure her.

"But you don't know that" Tonks admitted, her eyes beginning to glisten with the tears "If anything…." She had to shake her head to get rid of the thought, otherwise she would lose it, she needed to be strong, like she'd always been.

"Go to him" Tonks turned her head to look at her father who was no longer asleep, "Stand with him" he told her.

"But…" Tonks began. Before he'd left Remus had told her of how he didn't want their son to have no one, that she had to stay to make sure he wouldn't be alone, all though Tonks had told him that even if neither returned that they'd still be with him forever, Remus was stubborn and wanted her to stay.

"You're the brightest, Strongest witch I know" Ted Tonks told his daughter with a meaningful smile then looked over at his wife "Well one of the two" he smiled knowing what his wife had given up to be with him, like mother like daughter it seemed.

"We'll look after little Teddy" Andromeda opened her arms to take her grandson. The young witch kissed her son on forehead and whispered some sweet words before passing the sleeping baby to his grandmother.

She then slipped on her long black coat and grabbed her broom before telling her parents that she would be back soon. Then she disappeared. Ted and Andromeda looked to one another hoping they hadn't sent their only child to her death.

…

Tonks had apparated to Hogsmead, knowing she wouldn't be able to get to Hogwarts. That's where her comet 360 came in handy. Being a metamorphmagus she changed her bright pink hair to a dark black as to not be spotted in the night sky.

She flew as fast as the broom could carry her. Looking down at the school below her she could see the devastation from the sky. Death eaters had brought down the schools defences. Bright lights of magic clashing below her almost lit up the sky. It seemed anyone from teacher to student that could lift a wand was fighting. It made her wonder why it was that she hadn't fought from the beginning.

Soon enough Tonks saw an opportunity to land safely on the grounds. The young witch landed with a thump and found herself skidding on the rubble covered floor until she hit a wall that was beginning to crumble.

Changing her hair back to the bright pink she preferred and suspected her husband did too, came naturally to her as she got up on her feet, ignoring the bleeding from the long scrape on her arm and the cut on her forehead, she'd been a cluts all of her years a few more scrapes wouldn't kill her.

She began running around in her clunky black boots, looking, hoping, for any sign of her husband. Running into the school she saw Harry running down the stairs followed closely by a tearful

Hermione and a blank looking Ron. "Have any of you seen Remus?" she asked them, her voice coming out breathy from the running.

"The last we saw him he was by the bridge" Harry told her and she was gone before he could even say any more.

Tonks' heart was beating in her chest, she'd never ran so fast in her life, she dodged any and every spell that was being thrown at her. She could see him, Remus was in front of her, fighting someone, his wand arm outstretched and a beam of red clashing with green. She had to help him that's why she was here, why she abandoned their son.

"Expeliarmus" Tonks heard someone yell in her direction, she turned and found a deatheater raising their wand at her sending her's out of her grip, now she was screwed. Then in a blink of an eye Neville Longbottom ran out behind her with his wand in the air sending a stupefying spell in the deatheaters direction. "Thank you" Tonks called to him before they both ran off in opposite directions.

As she approached Remus and Dolahov who were still in mid fight, she knew this could be it, Remus couldn't last much longer, he was a strong wizard but the death eaters unfortunately was stronger. She went to grab her wand only to find that it wasn't there, looking over her shoulder she saw that it was where she'd been standing moments ago and now there was another fight between good and evil right over it.

Instead she saw a supply closet that's door had obviously been ripped off the hinges, inside many items seemed to be burned to a crisp, except….. She saw the opportunity and took it, it was the only resort she had.

Dolahov didn't know what hit him. Remus had been so concentrated on his opponent, on making sure he made it home to his family that he didn't see his wife coming up behind the deatheater until he'd fallen to the ground, the curse he was firing diminishing.

Tonk's stood over the deatheaters body, the bloody mop in her hands, she'd struck him right in the back of the head with it.

"Dora!" Remus exclaimed, his breath leaving him in pants. "I told you…." he began. Still not able to believe that his wife had saved his life.

"Oh Shut up Remus" Tonks shoved his shoulder with her hand lightly "You're an over protective prick sometimes…" she told him before her stern looked changed into a smile "But I bloody love you and am not letting you fight this alone"

Remus took the opportunity to wrap an arm around his wife and kiss her as if he would never get the opportunity again. Perhaps they wouldn't.

"Oh look, My Niece and her husband" Remus and Tonks broke away from one another at the sound of the cackly voice, in front of them stood Bellatrix. Both Tonks and Remus could hardly believe that the kind, sweet, warm Andromeda was not only Narsissa's sister but also Bellatrix.

"I never did send my congratulations" she snarled at them, "Let me do that now?" the dark witch lifted her arm in an attacking stance and her voice echoed "Avadakadava!"

Remus curled around Tonks and yelled "Protrego!" The bubble gum pink witch watched as the darkest curse of them all came flying towards she and her husband only to have it bounce off of the shield he created and bounce back to hit the very evil witch who sent it in the first place.

As if in slow motion, Bellatrix took a long shaky breath, her eyes wide as her vision began to blur, and the world around to crumble. She turned to dust as a long gust of wind blew past and the specs of dirt that had been Tonks' aunt and Voldemort's right hand women was gone, scattered amongst the rubble and bodies of deatheaters and of brave wizards and witches who fought for bravery. Alas there was still a battle to be one but it was now between Voldemort and the chosen boy himself.

…

It was over, the final battle was over. Voldemort was gone, Harry lived, some would say good had trumped evil others would say that there was no such thing as good and evil or right and wrong just your side and there's.

Everyone walked through the crumbling grounds of Hogwarts. The bodies had been moved out of respect. The school would have to be re built but with magic it wouldn't take long. Still Filch got a broom and was sweeping the dust and smaller pieces of debris so that the true nature of the damage could be seen.

The Lupin's held hands as they walked through the grounds, neither saying a word, just taking comfort in one another's presence and how lucky they were that they both were alive. They stopped in front of the bloody mop near to where they had been standing.

Remus picked it up and looked at it for a moment "You shouldn't have come" he told her. Tonks sighed "What about Teddy?" he asked her, thinking of their beautiful new born.

"He's fine, Mum and Dad have him, plus he'll snore like his father until dawn" she assured him with a smile. Remus raised his hand to her cheek and caressed it softly. Both leant for another kiss much like earlier only to be interrupted again.

"You put that thing back where it came from….Or so help me!" Filch yelled pointing to the very storage cupboard Tonks had got it from to defend her husband.

The couple smiled at the older man before putting the mop in the cupboard as he requested before deciding that perhaps it was time for them to get home. To their son….

Two years later…

"And that is how your mother saved my life" Remus finished telling two year old Teddy the story of how brave his mother was, of how selfless she had been. He knew the two year old couldn't fully comprehend what his father was telling him but he knew eventually the boy would.

"Again?" The little boy with bright turquoise hair asked stifling a yawn. Remus was sat on the edge of the little boys bed as his son snuggled further into his bright red duvet and pillow.

"Not tonight, maybe tomorrow" Remus suggested to the sleepy boy before ruffling the blue hair atop his head "Good night" he mumbled before exiting the room, turning on the night light and shutting the bedroom door.

"He'll be getting his Hogwarts acceptance letter before we know it" Tonks' voice made Remus jump a little in surprise, not expecting to find her lurking in the corridor.

"I wonder what house he'll be in" Remus mumbled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her to their room "Thank you" he said after a moment.

"For what?" Tonks asked him quizzingly.

"For coming to the battle, for being there" Remus looked her in the eyes and looked at her with a raw honesty she'd never seen before.

"Always"


End file.
